Misguided Magical Thinking
We tend sometimes to lose ourselves in the turmoil of our efforts, and we begin to think, in the backs of our minds (or, worse, even in their fronts) that our actions per se directly bring about the results that follow.
The Message of Maoz Tzur: Defying Universalization of the Holocaust
by Tzipora Weinberg The story of Chanuka resists categorization. It is neither a saga of absolute redemption nor a tale of tragic loss; the onslaught at its center is considered a breach rather than...
Jewish students must realize that SJP is about hate — only hate
There is only one metric by which BDS is a success: inciting anti-Semitic hatred on campus. The presence of “anti-Israel” activity virtually guarantees anti-Semitic incidents.
What I Didn’t Tell Pat Robertson
My eight-year old granddaughter in Givat Ze’ev nailed it. She reacted to viewing clips of my recent television interviews with Pat Robertson and his son Gordon with two questions: What’s television? What are Christians?...
We Have Returned
We are glad to be back! We also hope that we have closed off possible venues of attack. If anything goes amiss, we will be seeking further professional help. All of this has cost...
Rabbi Simcha Shafran ob”m
As we resume publication, we note with sadness the passing of Rabbi Simcha Shafran, father of our contributor Rabbi Avi Shafran. Rabbi Shafran was to travel from Bialystok to the famed Novardok Yeshiva when...
On Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi’s Form of “Kiruv”
Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi has voiced many things that reduce complex issues to simplistic and misleading sound bites. Misleading assertions, even when offered with the best of intentions, are dangerous.
Harassment, Hijabs and Hoaxes
Widespread reports over the weeks since Election Day of harassment and hateful graffiti aimed at minorities reminded me of something the legendary Agudath Israel of America leader Rabbi Moshe Sherer, z”l, taught me, the...
Rabbi Norman Lamm and Henry Ford: A Tribute to One of Rabbi Lamm’s Hidden Accomplishments as He Enters his Ninth Decade
Rabbi Michael J. Broyde Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday in December, 2016 and it is worth reflecting on a unacknowledged contribution of Rabbi Lamm to Jewish life in America. Of course,...
School Choice: Response to a Forward Editor
An article of mine responding to Forward contributing editor Jay Michaelson’s lament over the appointment of Betsy DeVos as the nation’s next Secretary of Education appears in that paper, accessible here.